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Riverside County Sheriff ordered to return 650,000 seized ballots
The California Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco acted unlawfully by seizing approximately 650,000 voted ballots during an investigation into a 2025 special election. The court ordered the immediate return of the ballots, which were contained in roughly 1,000 boxes, to the Riverside County Registrar of Voters.
The investigation was prompted by claims from the Riverside Election Integrity Team, which alleged a discrepancy of nearly 46,000 votes in a redistricting referendum known as Proposition 50. However, election officials stated the actual discrepancy was only 103 votes.
In addition to ordering the return of the ballots, the high court ruled that Bianco must cease his criminal investigation into the election results unless he receives explicit permission from California Attorney General Rob Bonta. Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero noted that state law requires ballots to remain in the custody of election officials, even during active criminal probes.
Entities
California Supreme Court · Chad Bianco · Clarissa Cervantes · Goodwin H. Liu · Riverside County · Rob Bonta
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.
- [● 11 SOURCES] The California Supreme Court ordered Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco to return approximately 650,000 seized ballots. 1053rnb.com · praisehouston.com · rickeysmileymorningshow.com · themorninghustle.com · 92q.com · +6 more
- [● 11 SOURCES] The investigation was initiated following claims by activists that vote tallies from a recent special election on redistricting did not match received ballots. 1053rnb.com · praisehouston.com · rickeysmileymorningshow.com · themorninghustle.com · 92q.com · +6 more
- [● 11 SOURCES] Associate Justice Goodwin H. Liu described the removal and handling of over 1,000 boxes of documents by armed deputies as unlawful. 1053rnb.com · praisehouston.com · rickeysmileymorningshow.com · themorninghustle.com · 92q.com · +6 more
- [● 2 SOURCES] The California Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Sheriff Chad Bianco must halt his criminal investigation into alleged election irregularities. www.thethinkingconservative.com · justthenews.com
- [DISPUTED] Registrar of Voters Art Tinoco stated the actual vote gap was only 103 votes. www.thethinkingconservative.com
- [DISPUTED] The Riverside Election Integrity Team alleged a discrepancy of 45,896 votes between precinct logs and the certified count. www.thethinkingconservative.com · justthenews.com